The program, anchored by CNBC’s Bill Griffeth, will explore a range of issues related to the impact of the U.S. tax code including perceived inequities of the system as well as new tax proposals under consideration.

Joining professor Mann will be former Vermont Governor Howard Dean (who will also be speaking about politics at Brandeis Thursday night); Bill George, professor of management practice at Harvard Business School; Jim Nussle, former Iowa Congressman, director of the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) and chairman of the House Budget Committee; and Alison Deans, a senior executive in the financial services industry and frequent CNBC contributor.

Prior to joining Brandeis, Professor Mann spent more than 20 years working in policy institutions and think tanks in Washington D.C., including the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the President's Council of Economic Advisors at the White House, and the World Bank. She is a frequent commentator for CNBC, Bloomberg Television, and the American Public Media radio program “Marketplace.”